Is it that these teachers are passionate about their work and the responsibilities of their job; that is the job of infusing knowledge? Is it that these teachers, classified as “effective” have been blessed with the gift of knowing exactly what each child needs? Have these “effective” teachers honed their craft through professional growth opportunities and administrative support? Or, is it all of the above?
Research suggests that teacher quality is positively correlated to student achievement. The major issue remains what variables constitute “teacher quality”. Whatever the answer, one thing is for sure, the effects of having a good teacher versus a bad teacher is enormous. As Dr. Stronge referenced, “It’s the difference between dropping out and going to Harvard”.
Consider the study comparing two groups of Dallas students. Each group started at relatively the same level of math achievement in the 3rd grade (Graph 1.) Three years later, Group 1 drastically outperformed Group 2. The reason: Group 1 received instruction from three “effective” teachers compared to Group 2 having received instruction from three “ineffective” teachers.
Graph 1.
Source: Heather Jordan, Robert Mendro, and Dash Weerasinghe, The Effects of Teachers on Longitudinal Student Achievement, 1997.
This same study revealed that effective teachers turned previously low-performing Dallas 4th graders into high performing 7th graders.
Imagine the excitement I felt sitting there. I was thinking, "If we could just get all teachers to be effective teachers!" Heads nodded all around the room suggesting agreement and buy-in. Not a second later an administrator in the audience said, "Doesn't teacher comfort with content also matter here? I have seen many teachers take time away from math content to focus on Language Arts because they are more confident in the content." Stronge commented that Language Arts (reading and writing) can be more readily learned outside of the classroom/school setting and that math tends to be more complex and can require additional supports. Was this administrator onto something? Was she suggesting that teachers might be more effective if they taught to their strength in content area? I have heard many elementary teachers profess to love one content over another, even as they are saddled with teaching the four core areas. This is an issue we have yet to weigh in on in my district; as our math scores tend to remain flat - Departmentalization of Mathematics. Just thinking, "Would departmentalization of Mathematics at the elementary grades make the teachers more effective, thus positively affecting student math achievement?"
